In various work vehicle applications, a drive assembly may be utilized to provide rotational power to various components of the vehicle. In some wheeled or tracked vehicles, such as motor graders, a final drive assembly is mounted to a frame of the vehicle to provide rotational power, at a wheel mount of the drive assembly, to drive the wheels or tracks of the vehicle, and thereby move the vehicle over terrain. Such a drive assembly (and others) may include hydraulic motors for providing rotational power, and various gears for adjusting the speed of the rotational power for output at the wheel mount.
In some cases, the motors may be operated at one or more different speeds. While the use of multiple speeds in a drive assembly can significantly reduce the cost of the related motors, inverters, and electrical devices, the higher operating speeds of an electric motor significantly increases the ratios required from the drive assembly and can simultaneously result in an increase in size and cost of the overall drive assembly. Arranging and packaging complex assemblies such as these, along with gear trains, shifting assemblies, bearings, shafts and other drive components, in what may be a relatively tight space envelop, particularly in the axial direction, can be a challenge.